Brazil, the lone Portuguese-speaking nation of Latin America, is known for its extravagant Carnival, its unique approach to soccer (jogo bonito) and its racial hybridity. However, these popular tropes and cultural productions often mask political, social, and economic conflicts over representation and negotiations of different parties over the cultural productions and discourses that define Brazil.

This course examines these negotiations of “Brazilianess” by linking nationalist discourses, religious symbolisms, class and identity politics and their social implications on Brazilians’ lived realities including everyday corruption, consumerist culture, and the sex tourism industry.